[If my post is an unwelcome hijacking of the thread, I will be happy to start a new thread, but I think people already following this one are in a position to discuss it with intelligent experience...]
I came here tonight specifically to post asking:
What would you recommend to someone who wants to train to switch from Orthodox to Southpaw and back while fighting, i.e., to fight BOTH ways?
I thought this my be an incredibly naive question, but several people have indicated they do this to their own advantage.
But I really do think this could offer a (nearly) unique strategy and provide an increased set of tactics for dealing with a wider range of opponents and situations.
Background: I am an older guy [57], so I am never going to fight serious amateur much less pro. I am somewhat bidextrous (not fully ambidextous) in most things anyway, and although I write left handed I have generally thrown, batted, and boxed right handed.
I have only been boxing 2 months, and I am trying to gain technical accuracy (for now) while developing speed and power, but I have a background in (a bunch of) martial arts, especially Systema (Russian Martial Arts) where handedness is discouraged.
(I also do AMOK! knife defense and fighting and generally do that left handed for the tactical advantage against right handed knifers -- but this usually means fighting from a stance that resembles a right handed boxer since generally the knife hand is best kept as the forward hand. But in AMOK! I definitely fight both ways -- it's a practical requirement of the art.)
The last two practices I have switched to left handed (and back) when it suited me while working on the heavy bag with no apparent issues -- my footwork and punches seem to be just about the same (they are pretty sharp for a beginner.)
Boxing on the other side seemed almost as natural on one side as on the other -- almost as if I had been practicing both all along.
Confession: I generally switch when my front hand gets tired -- not for comfort however, but when it is so tired that my form is suffering significantly.
The differences in punch count and technique is enough to give me the ability to restore my form with the other hand.
Note: I am NOT doing this to get out doing the work, but rather to learn both techniques and to keep good form. I work hard on the bag for every punch.
If learning both sides is a good idea, what sorts of footwork works best for the transitions? (Is it as simple as stepping forward [or back] at right time even though I have been taught not to cross my feet when stepping? Or is this something you only do when you separate from the other fighter?
I really prefer the idea of being able to switch while attacking and pressuring forward or circling outside but don't know what I don't know about this topic.
So any ideas and suggestions will be appreciated....
Thanks.
--
HerbM
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